THE Liberal Democrats stand for a stronger economy and a fairer society with opportunity for all.

We believe that for the stability of the country we had to help bring down the deficit and we need to finish the job of balancing the books by 2018.

However, we disagree with the Conservatives who think that this should be done by squeezing those on low income and the least able to pay.

We feel that the richest in society should help us finish this task through targeted tax changes.

Locally, we suffer from an unfair funding situation. The government grant given to rural areas is much lower than to urban areas, despite the issues we face in a much larger area but with a smaller population.

Correcting the balance to give Herefordshire a fair share is a major priority for me and one that I have been campaigning on for 10 years.

Looking forward nationally, we plan to continue with a balanced budget and only borrowing for capital spending that enhances economic growth.

This will allow us to invest in necessary infrastructure including house building, road and rail networks, green energy and broadband.

We will complete the introduction of the new system of regulation for banks, separating retail and investment banking.

We will promote competition in banking and encourage schemes like community banks and credit unions.

As a previous director of Herefordshire’s Money Box Credit Union, I can recommend this as a wonderful local resource which has benefited many people.

We would also introduce a time-limited supplementary corporation tax for the banking sector which would raise an extra billion pounds to contribute to reducing the deficit.

All these measures would ensure that those who can afford to make a contribution, help put the country back on it’s financial feet.